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New Media and Citizen Engagement
Vineeta Dixit
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Use of ICTs for Citizen Interaction & Empowerment ..................................................................................... 3
Targeted Public Distribution System ............................................................................................... 4
Reporting on Corruption and Rent Seeking .................................................................................... 4
Financial Inclusion ........................................................................................................................... 4
Public Diplomacy ............................................................................................................................. 5
Democratising access to information ............................................................................................. 5
Comparison to traditional approaches ............................................................................................... 6
Interaction in an e-society and threats ................................................................................................................. 7
Optimising the impact of e-participation .............................................................................................................. 8
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................. 10
References .................................................................................................................................................................. 11
“Democracy is a living system that adapts constantly to changing circumstances”, Daniel
Yankelovich
Introduction
Across the world, governments and governance institutions are facing legitimacy challenges
as citizens voice in an increasingly louder pitch their disenchantment due to disquiet about
corruption, non-responsiveness to the needs of citizens especially the poor and inability to
connect with government functionaries including elected representatives.
Over the last 5 years, Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) including social media
and mobile based technologies have evolved exponentially, have become almost pervasive
in all walks of life, have made their presence felt in all geographies and strata of society and
are being positioned as the ultimate tool of citizen engagement.
The advent of internet and social media has brought in a paradigm change in which citizens
engage with each other as well as with government. As these platforms are increasingly
being used by citizens and their presence and penetration is increasing through mobile
devices, they present to us an opportunity to directly engage with each and every citizen.
However, simultaneously, they also present a challenge in terms of management of
platforms and expectations.
Given their characteristics to potentially give “voice to all”, immediate outreach and literally
24*7 engagement, ICTs and new media offers a unique opportunity to governments to
engage with all their stakeholders especially citizens in real time to make policy making
citizen centric. Many governments across the world including in India are using various
forms of new media platforms to reach out to their citizens, businesses and experts to seek
inputs into policy making, get feedback on service delivery, creating community based
programmes etc.
Use of ICTs for Citizen Interaction & Empowerment
The burgeoning mobile networks and increased internet penetration offer an opportunity to
enhance our outreach not only through SMS but also internet based interactions. Presence
of Telecentres and cyber cafés are also adding to alternate channels of communication and
engagement. The use of these platform to undertake public consultation on draft policy
documents, tracking of application status, providing agri-related information etc. have
become fairly common practices.
In this section, I will discuss some examples from India where mobiles, Online Media
including Social Media Platforms are being used in an innovative manner to interact and
engage with government on policy making issues, getting involved in the governance
process and become empowered.
Targeted Public Distribution System
The Public Distribution System (PDS) in India channels food grains at subsidised price to 160
million families through 0.4 million Fair Price Shops (FPS)
(http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/10th/volume2/v2_ch3_4.pdf last visited
April 20, 2012). It is the largest distribution network of its kind in the world. However, owing
to opaqueness in the processes of purchase, storage and distribution of grains and
provisioning of ration cards, leakages are common and rent seeking is enormous. Over the
last few years, both mobile and internet have been used to make the system more
accountable by making public the details of quantity of grains procured, provided to each
FPS, date of despatch of grain, publishing the ration card holder details etc. Typically, on the
PDS website of the state, the consumer can register herself and the details of purchase of
grain, distribution and movement to FPS is given over email or through SMS
(http://cg.nic.in/citizen/ - Dhan Kharidi Project from Chhattisgarh, www.fcs.up.nic.in – PDS project
from Uttar Pradesh). This is now being expanded and a new initiative is being undertaken
under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) Mission Mode Project to ensure transparency
in PDS at all levels in all states (http://negp.gov.in/Projects/PDS.aspx?id=1&&page=Objectives)
Reporting on Corruption and Rent Seeking
An initiative of a Bangalore based civil society organisation, www.ipaidabribe.com has
emerged as one of the key platforms to discuss corruption at all levels of government.
Especially important has been its role in bringing to light rent seeking in the local
government departments. They also have visibility on FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube that
enables them to highlight corruption and empower common man by giving them a voice. It
also simultaneously provides space to laud honest officials and good government practices.
More recently, last year in August a wave of demand for the passing of Lokpal Bill swept
across the country. The campaign was spearheaded by a grassroots organisation called India
against Corruption (http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/index1.html last visited on April
20,2012). The agency was able to leverage social media and mobile technologies to organise
mass rallies across the country and persuade the federal as well several state governments
to introduce/enact Lokpal Bill that is aimed essentially at rooting out corruption at the point
of access of public service delivery.
Financial Inclusion
At 145 million, India has the highest no. of unbanked households in the world and almost
half of India’s population is unbanked
(http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Speeches/PDFs/FIC060911DG.pdf last accessed on April 20, 2012).
Given the enormity of the problem, Government of India through various banking
institutions decided to leverage ICTs to extend financial inclusion to rural and far flung areas
of the country. Many IT companies and civil society organisations have joined hands with
village level entrepreneurs who act as Banking Correspondents (BCs) to provide access to
various financial services including account opening, cash-in/cash-out, micro-credit and
micro-insurance. The BC model uses a combination of ICTs including high end IT application
linked to the core banking system, mobile devices including phones and point-of-sale
devices and biometric authentication devices. It is expected that nearly one third of India
nearly 600,000 villages have been covered by March 2012 and the coverage is expected to
go up to 50% by end of March 2013.
Public Diplomacy
In an attempt to engage with Indian Diaspora, the Ministry of External Affairs initiated a
Public Diplomacy website (http://www.indiandiplomacy.in/default.asp) along with presence on
FaceBook and Twitter presence. One of the big successes of this initiative was the
evacuation of 800 Indians from Misratah, Libya facilitated by Twitter and FaceBook
interactions (http://www.slideshare.net/eletseditorial/navdeep-suri, last visited on April 20, 2012).
Since its inception, now a dedicated YouTube channel (~350 videos uploaded since launch)
has been added and many related FaceBook pages
In addition to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Planning
Commission, The Directorate General of Employment and Training, several municipal
agencies, traffic police and many other government agencies in India have significant
presence on social media, and use mobile devices for citizen interaction.
Democratising access to information
The Government of India had enacted the Right to Information (RTI) Act to promote
transparency and set practical measures for information access to citizens. While there was
some positive impact on ground, many requests did not receive the desired replies and it
was very difficult to seek information from government agencies. In the state of Bihar, the
state government initiated a fixed line based project called Jaankari (meaning information)
to expand the base of RTI access and creation of a facilitation centre (http://cic.gov.in/CIC-
Articles/JAANKARI-pdf-26-03-07.pdf last accessed on April 20, 2012). The system is designed to
facilitate filing of an application over single phone call to a special 6 digit code 155311
without visiting any government office or physical transfer of money as the fee is debited to
the monthly phone bill of the user. According to the data provided by the state information
commission, 3 call centre of Jaankari have filed 23638 petitions, 13224- First Appeal, 8373-
2nd Appeal and answered 46873- Queries and 8585 other calls, between January, 2007 and
November, 2011 (http://negp.gov.in/pdfs/jankari.pdf last accessed on April 20, 2012)
Comparison to traditional approaches
An oft ignored fact is that the traditional approaches to citizen engagement have also
included use of ICTs – TV, Radio, Telephone. Live debates on TV or call in shows on radio are
a fairly common method of interacting directly with citizens in India. However, somehow
while reviewing traditional methods of citizen engagement, print and face-to-face meetings
spring immediately to mind. Barring the latter approach, other media are viewed as
methods that facilitate one way interaction or broadcasting of message. Such interactions
are often asynchronous and there is usually time lag in getting response from citizens.
The advent of ICT and new media is transforming the way in which people connect with
each other and the manner in which information is shared and distributed. It is different
from traditional media such as print, radio and television in many significant ways, namely:
User Generated Content - The amount of content that can be generated by the users
themselves far exceeds the content generation by news/opinion makers;
Viral - Its “viral” ability for potential exponential spread of information;
Real Time Engagement - It releases the shackles of time and place for engagement
and can connect policy makers to citizens in real time;
Individual Interaction - In tradition forms of media, interaction with individual user is
either not possible or is very limited. New media platform offers the ability to
connect with each and every individual thereby improving the political position of
marginalized or vulnerable groups, such as women, youth, and minorities that are
often not taken into consideration;
Fuzzy Role definition – Unlike traditional media where role of a spokesperson is well
defined, on online media, such role is often fuzzy and lines between official and
personal roles are often blurred sometimes leading to misrepresentation;
Connectedness - This attribute showcases the media’s ability to connect and re-
connect like-minded people or people interested in same topics and domains and
through this media, 24*7 connectedness is possible through a variety of media and
access devices including PCs, Laptops, mobile phones etc.
Collaboration - The connections achieved on this media, enable people to
collaborate and create knowledge bases whether open or closed such as wikis or
ExpertNet
Community - Connectedness and collaboration helps create and sustain
communities that can create awareness about various issues and can be used for
seeking inputs into policy making, building goodwill or even seeking feedback into
delivery of public services
Interaction in an e-society and threats
E-society may be defined as communities in which ICTs plays catalytic role in relationship
between governments, markets, and citizens. As ICTs become more pervasive, with emails,
e-commerce and e-services becoming an intrinsic part of lives of an increasing no. of people,
they are creating impacts on all walks of lives. However, while potential virtues of e-society
are being promoted, there are conflicting results on ground. For example, as more and more
people go online, ever larger number is seeking digital unplugging (23rd March is the
National Unplugging Day in USA http://mashable.com/2012/03/22/national-day-of-unplugging/
last visited on April 20, 2012). Similarly, while one study shows that average internet user
network is more diverse than those who do not
(http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Technology-and-social-networks/Part-3/Diversity-of-social-
networks.aspx last visited on April 20, 2012), another study shows that people are unable to
establish meaningful relationships online
(http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/03/05/lonely-people-find-no-comfort-in-chatting-
with-online-strangers/ last visited on April 20, 2012). On one hand people are meeting their life
partners online, on the other excessive online activity is leading to divorces.
For businesses either, there are no clear cut indications. For example, in its largest e-
consumer base, despite large investments in e-Commerce solutions, online purchases
constituted about 5% of total retail spending in US
(http://www.internetretailer.com/2011/02/17/e-commerce-sales-rise-148-2010 last visited on
April 20, 2012). In India too, only about half of internet users who looked for information
online made online purchases, and only 20% accounted for non travel related purchases
(http://www.imediaconnection.in/article/91/Digital/Internet/ecommerce-in-india-statistics-trends-
and-insights.html last visited on April 20, 2012).
For governments too, the task is equally daunting. Perception of trust, security and privacy
in a world that is increasingly mediated by ICTs that enable surveillance with or without
consent of citizens is limiting the usage of e-services and creation of joined up-services.
There are also concerns regarding civil liberties that may be impacts by these technologies
(http://is2.lse.ac.uk/wp/pdf/wp173.pdf last visited on April 20, 2012)
At ground level, interactions in e-society are limited by challenges related to digital literacy -
management of change from human interface to technology interface and e-accessibility -
ownership of access devices, differential access to such services and compounded by the
varied “absorptive capacity” (Cohen & Levinthal, 1989) or “social capability” (Abramovitz,
1986).
“On Online platforms 1-5% create content, 10-15% react or re-post remaining 80% are
passive consumers” Ajit Balakrishnan, CEO Rediff.com
The above observation made at WITFOR 2012 showcases the primary challenge of fruitful
engagement of citizens over long periods of time. Clearly this is a cultural and organisational
issue that cannot be solved by merely turning to technology. However, technology can be an
enabler for change.
From my experience, the top five threats to interactions in e-society are same as those in
non-e-society
a) Limited Trust in Government: The primary challenge to initiating consultation is
trust building. It is seen that generally, government actions are often low on public
trust. There is also scepticism towards the reason why participation is being
encouraged including tokenism.
b) Political Reluctance: Public participation is essentially a political process and is often
not formalised or conducted in a structured manner. As such, people are often
reluctant to participate.
c) Limited capacity to engage: In order to engage meaningfully in public policy debates,
it is essential that the participants have knowledge about issues at hand and policy-
making processes. However, given the limited availability of knowledge and
sometimes requirement of specialised skill sets viz. Legal, technical etc. many people
believe that their capacity to engage in such processes in limited.
d) Lack of Commitment: Engagement in policy making processes is a long drawn
process and often requires individuals to make long term commitments about time
and other resources. These are usually limited, thereby limiting the type and
continuity of participation.
e) Exclusion: Consultative processes may also be seen as a way of legitimising the view
of the dominant groups. In addition, the manner of consultation – time, location,
mechanism of participation, language etc. may also result in exclusion of most
marginalized and vulnerable groups.
(http://mit.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/Framework_for_Citizen_Engagement_in_NeGP_4_0(1)
.pdf)
The solution to the problem does not lie in abandoning the Internet or social media as a tool
for democratic engagement and consultation, but in creating new opportunities for
connecting citizens provided by public kiosks, cyber-cafes and community centres, as well as
via interactive TV and other digital platforms including mobile phones.
Optimising the impact of e-participation
As in non-ICT enabled interactions, the level of engagement is driven by self-interest, the
ability to create communities and enhanced visibility of the cause. To make the engagement
successful, this essentially means creating awareness in, training of and continuous
engagement with both the service provider as well as the service seeker using new tools for
improved service and more effective interaction with public. In addition, as in the context of
offline participation, participatory techniques must be matched to objectives of citizen
participation programs whether it is seeking feedback from citizens on proposed public
policies, Issue based as well as Generic interaction, Brand Building or Public Relations or
Generating Awareness and education on National Action Plans and implementation
Strategies.
Some of the strategies that may be used to mitigate challenges mentioned in previous
section include:
a) Trust Building: This is an ongoing process and requires long term commitment. For
starters, the objective of engagement must be made clear from the beginning.
Second, all inputs and feedbacks whether considered and incorporated or not must
be shared and reasons for non consideration also be shared to ensure transparency
in consultation. It is also essential that all participating government officials should
identify clearly who they are, what are their roles and responsibilities in
participation. Moreover, they must publish in first person to create a personal
rapport. Disclaimer may be used when appropriate. Finally, there should be
congruence between responses posted on social media and those in traditional
media
b) Defining Degree of engagement: Managing expectations in a participatory process is
a critical aspect. As most new media technologies enable 24*7 engagement, it is
essential that intervention points and degree of engagement is defined at the outset
e.g. the scope of response – given/not given, type of response – official/unofficial,
response time – 1 day/1 week etc. so that expectations are set correctly. Some of
the ways to ensure timely or proactive response is Email integration and RSS feed.
From the citizen’s perspective the degree of engagement would make her define her
own role and scope in engagement based on commitment and capacity to engage. It
is NOT necessary to respond to each and every comment.
c) Openness & Inclusion: The principal of openness is - be open to comments –
whether positive or negative. Inclusion involves speaking the language of the
stakeholder – ICTs enable various forms of engagement – text based, voice based,
video based, they even enable translation, text to voice and voice to text conversion.
Use whatever technologies are disposal to encourage inclusion and enable access
through multiple devices including mobile phones, contact centres, internet etc.
d) Integration with existing participation process: Although ICTs have made inroads
into our lives, yet a large population especially those who are vulnerable and
marginalised have minimal access to ICTs. Therefore it is essential that e-
participation methods are used alongside offline methods to ensure wider
participation.
e) Skill Building: Basic Literacy and digital Literacy continue to be a challenge with
vulnerable and marginalised groups in societies. It is therefore essential that literacy
and e-literacy programmes are an essential building block of any e-participation
initiative.
Conclusion
In the discussion above, I have attempted to highlight through some examples from India
the various use of ICTs for Citizen Interaction & Empowerment. The paper has also discussed
some contradictions in the hype associated with e-enabled interactions. Most importantly,
the paper has shown that the challenges and ways of mitigating challenges for e-
participation are similar to those used in traditional methods of interactions and that
technology while adding an additional layer of complexity is perhaps the least of the
challenges.
References
Abramovitz, M., 1986, Catching up, forging ahead and falling behind, Journal of Economic History, 46, 2, 386-406
Cohen, W. M., Levinthal, D. A., 1989, Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R & D, Economic
Yankelovich, D. http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2006/02/Eighteen-Propositions-For-Citizen-Engagement.aspx last visited on April 20, 2012)
1
Connectivity
Collaboration
Community
1: How does ICT provide innovative ways for citizen to
interact, get involved and become empowered and
how do these relate to more traditional approaches?
2
Examples from India where mobiles, Online Media including Social Media Platforms are being used 1. Targeted Public Distribution System 2. Reporting on Corruption and Rent Seeking 3. Financial Inclusion 4. Public Diplomacy 5. Democratizing access to information
Vineeta Dixit, New media and citizen engagement Democracy is a living system that adapts constantly to changing circumstances”, Daniel Yankelovich
2: How do different actors interact in an e-
society and threats?
Top five threats to interactions in e-society (same as those in non-e-society) 1. Limited Trust in Government 2. Political Reluctance 3. Limited capacity to engage 4. Lack of Commitment 5. Exclusion
3
3: What practical and achievable recommendations would you
make to governments, and particularly local authorities, about
how to optimize the impact of e-participation in the short and
longer term?
4
Optimising the impact of e-participation 1. Trust Building 2. Defining Degree of engagement 3. Openness & Inclusion 4. Integration with existing participation process 5. Skill Building